This Time Love Will Save Us
by Ffeona 'sarcasm-is-my-drug
Summary: Very AU: Chris is not related to the Charmed Ones; he still comes to the past. Eventual Chris/Piper. Includes charcaters like future-Piper, evil-Wyatt, Melinda Halliwell, and Paget. Is Chris an innocent or a demon sent to trick them? I suck at summaries!
1. The Boy Next Door

CHARMED

Title: This Time Love Will Find Us

Pairing: Chris Perry/Piper Halliwell **Chris is not Piper and Leo's son.**

Spoilers: Season Six (mostly AU)

Summary: Begins after an AU version of events in Oh My Goddess p1 & p2 in which Chris did not arrive to save the day, Paige lived, and Piper lost Leo to Elder-hood anyway. A stranger arrives with his young ward to live next door to the Charmed Ones. Can he be trusted or is he just another Cole in disguise? What will happen when they discover his true purpose and his true origins?

The Boy Next Door

Piper seemed to always be falling in love with the boy next door. When she was eight she convinced herself that she wanted to marry Peter Finch who lived three houses down the road and had a dog named Gillie. When she was fifteen she dated Aaron Stevens who's grandmother lived opposite Piper. Then there was Leo who was both the ultimate boy next door – with him being a handyman and literally having watched over her Piper's whole life – and him being the total antithesis of the boy next door; unreliable, unpredictable, unavailable, and magical. And of course who could forget Dan – the literal boy next door! And now it seemed there was a new attractive, if a little young, male neighbour moving in complete with his own little ward and mystique.

"Hi, I'm Phoebe Halliwell!" Phoebe had rushed over as soon as she had spotted the new talent. While she was still seeing Jason he had moved to Hong Kong for six months so she considered herself free to flirt although Piper doubted she would go any further; after all she loved Jason very much.

Just like Piper loved Leo very much. And she wasn't over that – not by a long shot! Piper was still fuming mad at her now ex-husband at his careless abandonment of her and his infant son. It was hard enough raising a baby alone; let alone a magical child by herself! Which was why she had been selfishly glad that Phoebe and Paige were still living with her even though she could sense that Phoebe missed Jason terribly and that Paige was feeling a little… stifled by always doing everything magical as part of the power of three; which helped explain why she was on this strange temp job kick; although Piper wasn't complaining after all it was making Paige happy – in a general way rather than specifically on a day to day level – and it was helping to support them all.

"Hey… I um… I'm Chris. Chris Perry." The tall man with a great head of brown hair and wicked green eyes replied. He seemed unable to tare his eyes away from Phoebe although it wasn't exactly in a 'oh god she's gorgeous' way; kind of a creepy way actually as if he wasn't truly sure she was real.

"And who's this little lady?" Phoebe asked, bending down to meet the shyly averted eyed of the tiny brunet girl who stood next to Chris holding a blanket up to her face.

"This is Paget. She's my ward." Chris told her and Phoebe looked from the older man to the shy girl and saw that there was no similarities between them which probably meant they weren't related. Paget's hair was darker than Chris's – closer to black than his chocolate brown. Her eyes were gentle brown where as her guardian's were sparkling green. Her skin was creamy-gold but Chris's was pale and red from where the sun had burnt him slightly. Chris had freckles but this tiny girl had none. Paget's face was heart shaped – Chris's was more oval… the dissimilarities went on.

"Hello, Paget. I'm Phoebe. May I ask how old are you?" Phoebe asked, and the child looked up at Chris who must have given the affirmative because the next thing Phoebe knew the girl moved her comfort blanket away from her face revealing rose-bed lips that spoke with a childish lisp. "I'm five." She told Phoebe before bringing the blanket back and sticking a thumb in her mouth. Chris smiled at her.

"Five!" Exclaimed Phoebe in surprise. "Wow. That's really old!" And the little girl giggled. Phoebe smiled and almost instinctively reached out to tuck one of Paget's dark locks behind her ears. In doing so she suddenly felt a pain dash through her head as black and white images flashed before her eyes. A premonition and this one was obviously unpleasant.

Phoebe stood up quickly, her stomach was tied in knots, her head felt like someone had taken a hammer to it and she wanted to curl up in a ball and cry. "Are you okay, Ms Halliwell?" Chris asked. If Phoebe had been more 'with-it' she probably would have noticed that Chris didn't actually look freaked out the way most people do after they see her having a premonition; he just looked worried and fearful.

"She's fine!" Piper said, running across the lawn to get to her sister. She had witnessed the incident from inside the house and knew she needed to get Phoebe back inside. "She just gets migraines. Really suddenly." Piper explained not caring if it made sense to the stranger or not. She put her arm around her sister and made her way back to the house never once noticing the amazement and longing in Chris Perry's eyes as he watched them leave.

"What did you see?" Piper whispered to her sister as they walked up to their front door.

Phoebe, who was physically shaking in a way that was totally freaking Piper out, shook her head. "Nothing good." She promised.

End of Chapter One. Please Comment. I know this is really different and maybe too different (maybe a little OOC?) but I am really enjoying writing this and I hope someone out there is enjoying reading this!


	2. Visions

… _This Time Love Will Save Us._

**Chapter Two: Visions**

… PIPER…

"I think its time you tell us what you saw, Phebes." Piper said, her hand on her sisters a she, Paige, and Phoebe all sat at the table. Wyatt was up stairs having a nap. Phoebe listed the tea that Piper had poured for her to her lips and gulped down the sickly sweet liquid before taking a deep breath.

"It was… dark. Really dark and horrible." Phoebe said, just shuddering at the memory. Piper reached over and stroked Phoebe's hair while Paige hugged her close.

"Well that's why you have to tell us, honey. So we can stop it from happening. Okay?" Paige told her and Phoebe nodded.

"It took place in the attic… but it was different. It was literally darker, and a little bit dusty. The Book of Shadows was there and Chris – that's the new guy next door, was drawing something on the wall. The little girl was reading from the Book and then all of a sudden the room was full of demons. The little girl was crying and reading a spell from the book and Chris was using magic… it looked like he had an invisible shield or something that the demon's powers kept bouncing off of. Um… then a man dressed in black with curly blond hair appeared – I didn't see how, and he said that the book was his and that he should kill them both for their betrayal but the wall where Chris had been drawing lit up and Chris and Paget stepped through. That's all I saw." Phoebe finished.

Piper and Paige sat there in stunned silence. "Wow. She's so little." Piper said, thinking about that little child being caught up in a demonic battle at such a young age.

"So, ate they evil?" Paige asked, breaking the depressing tension that had fallen over the three sisters. Phoebe threw Paige a glare and Piper looked at her calmly but with a hint of surprise.

"No! Why would you think that?" Phoebe asked.

"Why wouldn't you? I mean if a demon gets the book in the future then it sounds like this Chris is working with him until he betrays them." Paige said.

"Paige is right. I know you want to believe that this man and the little girl are good but it sounds like they are as bad as whatever demon is after the book. Did you notice any marking that could identify him?" Piper asked and opened the Book of Shadows which was resting on the table because she had been making up a potion earlier.

"No, actually I didn't. In fact if anything he looked… human. Not demonic at all." Phoebe said. "But it's more than that. I could feel everything in that vision – it wasn't a normal premonition. I could feel that the little girl was terrified. Chris was determined and desperate but just as afraid as Paget. The demons were full of hate and blood lust and the man in black… he was empty. Like a shell. Like someone carved out his emotions and replaced them with a darkness I have never felt before." Phoebe explained.

"Do you think your power is growing?" Asked Piper who knew full well what havoc am extension of a power could wreck on someone's life. Like when she had started blowing things up as well as freezing them.

"Or maybe just a new one!" Phoebe figured out.

"What do you mean?" Paige asked, confused.

"Do you remember that Empath we met a few years ago?" Phoebe excitedly mentioned to Piper who nodded. "I think that's what I am! I'm becoming an empath. Isn't that cool?" She said, grinning.

"Sure, Phoebe, but if you remember his power almost drove Prue mad." Piper reminded her sister.

"Yeah but Prue was never meant to get that power. And its obvious that I am. I mean I can feel your scepticism and worry from here… and Paige's slight jealousy and how she feels like I'm invading her privacy by feeling this!" Phoebe said.

Paige sent her a glare. "This is going to be annoying." She muttered grumpily as Phoebe beamed; her vision pushed to the back of her mind for the moment. It never crossed any of the sisters' minds that the vision could have been on the far future; or of Chris's technical past.

… CHRIS …

She was so beautiful.

He knew it was wrong to think that as Piper escorted Phoebe – who had obviously just had a vision – back to the pink manor house that they had grown up in. But to be fair the Piper Chris knew was old enough to be his mother so seeing her so young was like a splash of water in his face. It was like someone was saying _wake up and see what is right in front of you_. Her hair was glossy and shone in the light. It was longer than he remembered, in the future she would cut it into a bob that ended just below her chin. Her skin was pure and her body was as slim as ever.

"Chris!" Whined Paget from besides him. "Why did the pretty lady go away?" She asked around the thumb in her mouth. Chris sighed and picked her up, carrying both her and the over night bag of freshly brought goods into the house.

"She had a premonition, Little P." He told his goddaughter. When Paget had been born he had just turned twenty and had known the Halliwell family for about ten years but it had still been a shock to him when an exhausted Phoebe Halliwell had begged him to become Paget's godfather. Now he suspected that Phoebe had for-sawn her own death and with Cole out of the picture she had been trying to ensure that her daughter would be safe.

"What's a _prem-non-ish-on_?" Paget asked, her curiosity never quelled by a simple answer. Chris smiled wryly; like all the other Halliwells he knew!

"It a vision. She saw either our future or past; just a little bit of it, in her mind." Chris explained as best he could to the inquisitive five year old. He felt strange about this whole situation; going back into the sisters past to screw things up a bit in hopes that Wyatt Halliwell wouldn't take over the world and start killing innocents. The last eight years had been hell on Earth for everyone except those who fell in line of what Wyatt wanted; like the Phoenix witches (Bianca – Chris's ex girlfriend) and the demons. So how could Chris say no when Melinda had begged him to go back to the past and save Paige from dying in a few weeks time?

"Okay." Paget said happily accepting this as the truth.

They both found their way inside their new 'home'. The rooms were barren of furnishings except a few cardboard boxes that Chris had carried inside to make it look like he was moving in. Truthfully they were empty. All that Paget and Chris owned could fit inside the duffle bag and then some.

"Home sweet home, hey Little P?" Chris said as he sat down on the wooden floor and watched Paget play carefree with the cardboard boxes and he wished that he too could just forget that the whole world literally hangs on his shoulders.

_**End of Chapter Two**_

_AU// Thanks for reading and a special shout out to these people who reviewed!_

_TheMyth_

_jazmingirl_

_Cancer-Chris_

_lizardmomma_

_Cancer-Chris pointed out that they were unfamiliar with the name 'Paget' so I thought I'd include a why/what thing at the end._

_The name Paget is from the English 'page' and means a helper, its mostly an Old English name from what I understand. The name came to my attention after watching Criminal Minds; a t.v. show with one of the actresses being called Paget Brewster. I called the girl Paget because I'm pretty sure its never been used before in Charmed fiction and its so hard to find names that haven't been used and also because its an ode to Paige Matthews; just like Wyatt's middle name is Matthew._

PS: Please revive! And thanks so much for reading!


	3. Fathers & Friendship

**This Time Love Will Save Us **

**Chapter Three: The Magic of Family**

MELINDA: September 2015

"Are you sure you want to do this, honey?" Piper asked her ten year old daughter as she finished platting the child's long silky brown hair.

"Positive." Melinda Prudence Halliwell confirmed.

"It's just you're so young to be giving up on a normal life." Piper said, looking at her youngest child with worry in her eyes.

"I'm almost eleven!" Mel reminded her mother. "And besides, I hate school. I have to lie to everyone and I don't have anything in common with all the other kids. At least if I go to Magic School I know that everyone else will be a freak too." Melinda informed her mother happily.

"Well if this is what you want." Piper agreed sighing. Melinda nodded her head, her brown eyes so serious and severe. Piper was sure that she never looked so sombre when she was that young, but then she had been raised as a mortal along with her two sisters; Prue ad Phoebe. Things had been so different back then.

"Come on then, Freak!" Wyatt, Piper's twelve year old son, said as he raced down the stairs to the half-way point where the door to Magic School appeared each morning and again each night ready for Wyatt – and now Melinda – to go and return from school.

"Wyatt don't call your sister a freak!" Piper chastised him.

He rolled his eyes as he held the door open for Melinda who raced to join him. "She said it first!" He reminded his mother as he closed the door. A second later the door vanished. The manor had never felt so empty.

_

Melinda couldn't stop staring. Everything was so much… bigger than she had expected. It was all so magical and exciting. A smile spread across her face as she beamed. "Go over there with the other new kids, okay?" Wyatt told her before racing off to find his own friends; Jeremiah 'Jez' Constance who could talk to the dead like a Necromancer, and Theodora a Telepath in training.

Melinda looked over at the line of parents with infants and moody looking teenagers. It looked kind of daunting. But she knew she wouldn't get anywhere unless she went to join them so she found her place and waited.

Five minutes later a shove caught her attention. "Hey!" She complained, rubbing her arm in a show of hurt. She was more annoyed than in pain though.

"Sorry! Someone fell into me!" Explained a voice from below her where she saw a boy about her age with bright green eyes and hair the same shade as her own. She forgave him instantly.

"It's okay." She said and offered him a hand up. He took his place once again in the cue just behind her. She turned to him and introduced herself. "I'm Melinda Prudence Halliwell. You may call me Mel." She told him.

He grinned sheepishly. "I'm Chris – Christopher Perry that is." He said.

"You new?" She asked, hiding her inner grin for having correctly guessed who he was. She was hoping he thought her radiating happiness was just excitement at 'the first day of school'.

"Yeah. Well no. I started here when I was really young but dropped out for a while. So I am new; but for the second time. I have to re-enrol." He said, confusing her.

"Why did you drop out?" She asked; unable to contain her curiosity. She wanted to know everything she could about him.

He looked away shyly. "My mom needed me." He said, obviously not wanting to talk about it.

"Why?" Mel asked. Ten year old Mel still did not get hints.

"Because." Was all Chris would give her. "Are you new?" He changed the subject.

"Yeah. My mom wanted me to go to ordinary school but I hated it. Everyone was petty and stupid and they all thought magic was pretend. I wanted to go to a school where there would be other people like me and where I could learn to levitate like Aunt Phoebe can and stuff like that." Mel chatted away happily.

"But don't you have a magical brother?" He asked, obviously trying to point out that she already had someone who knew all about magic around her. She was lucky that way.

Mel's smile fell a little. "Yeah. Wyatt. He's like a super witch. He had magic powers from the womb!" She rolled her eyes like she wasn't impressed but Chris could tell she was jealous. "Everyone thinks he's so amazing but he's really just mean. Like he always takes the last helping of jello and tells lies and stuff." She said. "Anyway – how did you know I had a brother?" She asked.

Chris blushed slightly. "Everyone knows. You're a Halliwell. You're famous." He told her and she beamed at him.

CHRIS: December 2015

"Hey! Wait up!" Melinda called to him as Chris strode down the hallway. They had just had their last class before Christmas; it had been Amateur Potion Making and Chris had blown his up when it wasn't supposed to. It had been embarrassing but the group of children had just laughed it off and Mel had helped him with one of his ingredients. Her mom had showed her how to make that potion when she had been younger, she had told him, and Chris had envied the strong and loving bond she and her mom obviously shared.

"Shouldn't you be getting home?" Chris asked her as she caught up with him.

"Yeah. But I know you are going to be here over Christmas and I think that sucks so I was thinking that maybe you could come home with me. I already cleared it with mom – she said she'd love to have you!" Melinda informed him. Students and teachers alike were moving all around them both up and down and across the never ending hallway.

"I… I can't… I mean… What about your dad?" Chris asked. In the three months that Chris had known Melinda she had never once mentioned her father. He assumed that she had the same dad as Wyatt and everyone knew that Wyatt's father was a busy whitelighter so perhaps she didn't see much of him. But Chris couldn't imagine that Mr. Wyatt didn't want to spend Christmas with his family and children and he surely wouldn't welcome the presence of an outsider like Chris!

But he saw Mel's enthusiasm dim slightly at the mention of her father which made him feel instantly remorseful because Mel had been a good friend to him in these months. "He won't be around. Please come! I can't bare to think of you all alone at Magic School while me, Wy, Aunt Phoebe and mom polish off one of her famous roasts! I mean its not like there won't be enough mom always cooks as if she is feeding twenty people!" Mel said and Chris was sure she was exaggerating but truthfully staying with a friendly face and eating a proper Christmas dinner sounded like heaven especially after the crappy Thanks Giving he had had.

"Sure. Okay then. Thanks." Chris agreed and Mel lit up, hugging him for a quick moment before taking his hand and dragging him to the door which led to her house. At it waited the slightly intimidating Wyatt Halliwell who would be thirteen in a few months. He was already half a foot taller than Chris with the body of a football player compared to Chris's 'swimmer's frame.

"What's he doing here?" Wyatt asked with an attitude in his voice that almost made Chris change his mind. However Melinda just rolled her eyes.

"He's coming with us. Mom said he could." She told him and Wyatt stepped aside to let his little sister and her friend through the door first.

On the other side of the school door was a staircase which led to the front of the Halliwell manor. Piper Halliwell, who had turned forty-two in August; which according to Melinda made her 'really old', stood in the foyer with a big smile on her face. The smell of sweet flowers and cooking makes Chris think about how much he had missed growing up and how different but happy it would be to stay here this Christmas. Melinda ran to her mother and gave her a hug despite the fact she had only seen the woman eight hours ago, and even Wyatt paused for a quick peck on the cheek but he disappeared quickly upstairs and Chris barely aw him for the remainder of his stay.

He met the famous Phoebe Halliwell who Melinda so wanted to be like (because she could kick demon butt apparently) and her husband – Cole Turner (ex-demon) was also present during the week. Leo Wyatt however was not around. At one point during the week Chris overheard Piper – who he had been told not to call Mrs Halliwell – telling Melinda that Leo had dropped by to take Wyatt 'up there'.

After that Chris found his way outside and sat on the swing seat thinking about his own father and how Evan Perry had never been there for him either. Maybe if his father had lived then Chris wouldn't have felt so alone and so much like a freak. Everyone at magic school had known that he had a mortal mother which meant his powers weren't as strong. But no one; not even the teachers; took the time or thought to consider what it was like for Chris when he had to go home to his mortal mom who didn't understand about magic and seeing it made her go pale and cover up his sister and brothers' eyes up. Half siblings; mortals. Mortals who had a dad who loved them even if he wasn't always around. Unlike both him and Melinda.

Mel came out and found him eventually. By this time it was dark and cold. Mel and Piper had finished up the chores and Phoebe and Cole had left to go to their own apartment which was closer to the law firm that Cole worked in and the Bay Mirror offices where Phoebe was a columnist.

She saw him and sat down besides him, keeping in time with his swinging as they sat in silence for a few moments. Chris finally spoke. "I'm sorry your dad isn't around for you much." He told her.

Mel's breath caught and she looked at him in surprise. "What do you mean?" She asked, sounding panicked.

Chris shook his head, his floppy uncut brown hair flying around his face as he did so. "Just that Mr Wyatt seems to be gone a lot and when he is here he only seems interested in Wyatt." Chris said.

"Oh. Oh; no, it's okay. It used to bother me but I know I have a mom and an aunt who love me very much." Mel said. "And even Wyatt loves me too, although he doesn't show it often."

Suddenly Chris felt like it was very important that he say what he was thinking; like if he didn't say it then Melinda would never know, never understand. He had never felt anything as intense in his life. He turned to face her, putting his feet on the ground to still the seat and pushing his hair out of his face. He touched her arm and she looked at him with her mother's brown doe eyes. "No, Melinda. It's not okay. He should be here for you. If I was your father I would be here for you all the time so you never forgot that I loved you." He told her ardently.

Tears welled up in Mel's eyes as she blinked them away. Then she launched herself into his arms. Chris usually didn't like to be touched – an after effect of being treated like a freak by his own mother half his life – but he relaxed into Melinda's hug. Then she leaned in close and whispered in his ear; "one day you are going to make an amazing daddy."

**End of Chapter Three**

_**Thanks to all who reviewed! You keep me inspired to keep writing! Thanks!**_

_**AN - I would like to mention that there will be no Melinda/Chris pairing - they are only good friends and very young in this chapter.  
**_


	4. Trapped

This Time Love Will Find Us

**Chapter Four: Trapped**

Piper groaned. "This has got to be the most boring demon kidnapping ever!" She said, irritated and board out of her mind as she sat in a cave in the Underworld just waiting to be killed by the demon or rescued by her sisters. She was obviously hoping for the latter. "I mean what happened to the good old days of taunting about how superior they are and how I'll never get saved in time? All I want is some good old fashioned monologue-ing. Is that _so much_ to ask for?" She ranted.

Chris Perry rolled his eyes in disbelief. Half an hour ago he had been sat in the Halliwells kitchen after Piper had invited him in for some lemonade and conversation. Of course he suspected she had been working on behalf of her sisters trying to get information out of him to see if he was a threat or harmless. Then they had been attacked by a demon. Of course. However Chris had had his back to the creature and hadn't seen a thing but Piper had tried to use her powers before being ultimately knocked out and transported to the Underworld.

"Did you see what type of demon it was?" Chris asked.

Piper glared at him. "A big one." She said. "How come you aren't surprised? Or panicking?"

Chris sighed. "I have faith in The Power of Three. In sisterhood. I seriously doubt Paige and Phoebe are going to let you die." He explained without really explaining.

"Who are you?" Piper asked, and it was clear from the tone of her voice that this question should not be avoided unless he wanted her to blow him up or something.

"I'm Chris Perry, a witch. I'm… from the future." He said, his eyes sliding away from hers as he didn't want to see the distrust and disbelief in them.

"I'm serious." Piper said in her no-nonsense tone of voice.

"So am I!" Chris replied, feeling fairly defensive. "Look, I was… will be born in January 2005, okay? My dad was a witch and my mom is a mortal and after my dad dies she doesn't really get magic. I mean its not like she signed up to give birth to a freak, now is it?" Chris looked away, the pain in his beautiful green eyes impossible to hide. "Look," he began again, his voice calmer this time, "I agreed to come back to the past to change specific events in hopes that it wouldn't end up as screwed up as it did in my time. Some of those events involve you; the Charmed Ones, which is why I moved in next door."

"Like what? What events?" Piper asked, still not convinced but she didn't sound so antagonistic now.

"Like Paige's death for one… it happens in a few weeks. It's a major turning point; the breaking of the Power of Three once and for all." Chris explains.

Piper looked heartbroken. The idea of losing another sister was as abhorrent to her as it was to Phoebe, and Chris could hardly blame her after all she had already lost; her normalcy, her mother, her grandmother, her sister Prue, her dreams, and her husband. It truly wasn't fair that this wise, beautiful, powerful witch had to lose so much in her life time. And she didn't know it yet but she had so much more to lose.

"So," Chris began again, his voice softer, "what did this demon look like?"

"He… he had a mark on his forehead… like a diamond but burned into his flesh. His skin was white and he was about seven feet tall and beefy. Um… he threw an athame at me but I didn't see it clearly and he used the power of Pyrokinesis on me." She explained.

"Sounds like a low level hunter demon… maybe a bounty hunter in which case he'll be either reporting to his employee in order to bargain for a price or he'll be after your sisters. It depends on the target." Chris summarized using his learning from Magic School.

Piper looked at him suspiciously. "How do I know you aren't the bounty?" She asked.

Chris gave her his best unimpressed look. "Oh yeah a bounty hunter really went to all the trouble of risking the Charmed One's wrath just to capture a male witch with the powers of telekinesis, deflection, materialising, and glamouring. Yeah, that makes sense." He said sarcastically and Piper glared at him.

"Fine then; maybe you hired the demon to capture us!" She said.

"Me? How would that help; I'm stuck here too!" He said.

"Which could be part of your plan to lure my sisters here so you would have a complete set!" Piper added.

"That's actually not a bad plan… but I'm not the bad guy here Piper. And besides, even if I was evil I would still care about Paget and by being here I'm leaving her to the mercy of your sisters." He reminded her.

Piper felt that he could be telling the truth about that. She had never seen a demon use a child that way and be able to truly fake genuine care and affection. Piper had seen Chris with his goddaughter Paget and he truly loved her. She decided it was time to talk about something different and since he had brought Paget up… "so how did you become Paget's guardian. Are you related?" She asked.

Chris smiled suddenly and it made his green eyes flash and light up. He looked so young and… beautiful when he did that. "No. When I was younger I made a friend – a best friend – at Magic School and Paget is her cousin. Later when the world went to shit her mother decided to make me her child's godfather because she knew something bad was going to happen to her. I don't really understand Paget's mother's motive but I know I will never betray the trust she put in me. Anyway, my best friend's aunt died a few hours later in an attack on the City and I've been looking after Paget ever since." He told her.

"An attack?" Piper mused out loud. "You make it sound like it was magical."

Chris gulped; he hadn't meant to reveal so much. "It was. In the future magic is exposed and a new Source rules over most of the Earth. It's pretty bad for everyone except those who follow the Source. And the worst part is that there is no one left who is strong enough to go after the Source. Al those who resist him live in what we call the City." He said, and Piper could hear he was passionate about the Resistance and upset at the idea of a new Source. Which to be fair the idea gave her the creeps and it hadn't even happened yet. That was if he was telling the truth.

"So you need to stop the Power of Three from dying so they can face the Source in your future?" Piper assumed.

Chris frowned. "Yes and no… the events that lead to the creation of the Source haven't yet occurred so by preventing Paige's death, yes I am hoping to stop the Source. But if I can stop the Source from being created in the first place, then that will be even better." He said.

"Right. Sounds like you have a lot of work ahead of you." Piper said, a little dazed and not just from information overload.

"And only just over a year in which to complete my tasks." Chris added. He noticed that Piper was looking very pale all of a sudden and crawled over to her. "Piper? Are you okay?" He asked softly, brushing her hair away from her face.

"It's just… I'm just a little cold… are you cold?" She asked. Chris frowned, worried. It was the underworld; no one got cold in the underworld. He touched his fingers to her forehead and winced at how warm she was.

"Are you sure you are cold Piper, because you are burning up." He said, and saw that there was a slight cut on her neck. "I think the athame may have hit you." He said. This was bad; very bad. Sometimes – Chris recalled – low level hunting demons used poison tipped athames to slow down or even paralyse their prey to make it even easier to capture and control. The poison itself often wasn't deadly but they could be fairly vicious and the only cure lay in the hands of the bounty hunter.

"Yeah… freezing." Piper said and Chris sat down next to her allowing her to snuggle into his leather jacket and share some of his body heat.

It was over three hours before Phoebe and Paige Orbed in. Piper had become delusional a while ago and had recently slipped into a coma. Chris had spent the last hour calling for Paige and Leo without hope – he wasn't a charge of theirs and he was in the underworld but he had hoped that maybe Piper's presence would make a difference. Obviously it hadn't.

Luckily they had the antidote with them and were able to Orb Piper and Chris back and give her the cure before it was too late. Still, she needed to rest and Chris needed to see Paget who he had discovered playing with Wyatt in the playpen. Well, as much as a nine month old baby and a five year old could play together. The scene sent shivers down Chris spine and he lifted Paget – who seemed unaware that anything was wrong – out and Materialised back to the empty house next door.

**End of chapter four**

_Please comment and thanks so much for your previous comments and support!_


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